Thursday, March 24, 2016

Camel Spiders, An All-Star Cast vs. Icky Creatures

...an all-star cast indeed, as far as this blog is concerned. Teaming up are Jon Mack, lead singer of Auradrone, queen of the icky insect films, and Jessica Cameron, scream queen, Producer and Director. Both these actresses symbolize the great strides women have come in horror films. No longer frail damsels in need of of a protector, Ms. Mack and Ms. Cameron are alluring and tough. With cowardice and fear enveloping those around them, these two change pace and man-up to fight an evil foe. From Executive Producer Roger Corman, we will look at 2011's "Camel Spiders."

After a battle in Afghanistan, Cpt. Sturges (Brian Krause) escorts the body of his dead corporal home. Unbeknownst to anyone, camel spiders have nested inside the corpse, and also arrive in Arizona. Sturges is accompanied by the sultry Sgt. Underwood (Melissa Brasselle), and when a police chase sends a perp into the side of their truck, the corporal's coffin is damaged, sending our spiders into the Arizona landscape. Immediately, our monsters discombubulate four attractive, but annoying, hikers and then beset the neighboring town. Diner patrons are now besieged, to include the Mullins family. Jon Mack plays, Sharon, the mom. At first she is determined to take her family apart, but we'll see her transition, very nicely into a machine gun toting monster killer...and ultimately a unifying force.

On another front, Ashley (Cameron), after watching the spiders eat her professor, is the only brave soul of her group. She keeps them focused, stable, and alive as the spiders close in on them. Most of our survivors are holed up in a gypsum plant, as Sturges and Underwood keep them safe...for now...with machine guns. Uh oh, there are more spiders than bullets and the spiders know it. As the survivors dwindle in number, the plant is overrun, causing Sturges and Underwood to adopt plan B. The creatures are icky (there's that word again), and we do care about the characters. Some of the deaths are heartbreaking, others are causes for cheering.

Will our featured scream queens survive and team up in a future film? Will a very serious Sturges and his beautiful sergeant explore the army's fraternization policy? Will some wiseguy come out with a camel spider cook-book? This is an enjoyable flick and fans of the Syfy Channel will love it. I saw this film just before the government sent me to Amman, Jordan and Petra, a few years ago and my hosts looked at me as if I had lobsters crawling out of my ears when I kept asking about camel spiders.